Message: I want to dye some small curtains for a boat black. I am not sure what material they are but it is quite thick and a turquoise colour at present. I only have access to a laundrette and therefore will have to dye them by hand. Unfortunately the only dye I have been able to purchase is machine dye. The lady in the shop said that it would be ok if I used hot water and kept stirring it. Please can you advise on this.

Dylon Machine Dye will in many cases work if used in a bucket of hot water, with constant stirring, but only if the fiber content of the curtains is appropriate for the dye.  Dylon Machine Dye works very well on cotton, viscose rayon, linen, and other plant fibers, as well as silk. The high-pH additives included in the dye mixture to make it work on cotton will prevent it from working on nylon, and will damage wool. Dylon Machine Dye will not work on polyester or acetate, no matter how much you stir it or heat it; the dye will just wash out, or, if you don't wash it out, will rub off onto other items, ruining them. 

Before you bother to try dyeing your curtains, you should try to find out what their fiber content is. Here are two very helpful sites that explain how to do a burn test:

• Ditzy Prints' Fiber Burn Chart
• Fabrics.net Fabric Identification

In order to dye your curtains in a cooking pot or bucket, you are going to need a very large one. The fabric must be able to move freely as you stir it; otherwise, you will get a dark-and-light tie-dye effect, not the solid color you are looking for.

I also have a friend trying to dye his cushion covers grey. He has the same problem but also has a pattern of white, grey and pink cheques on the material already. Will this cause dying problems?

As with your curtains, it makes no sense to try to dye the cushion covers without first determining the fiber content. There is no point in trying to dye polyester or acetate with a cotton dye. Also, since dye is transparent, the original pattern will inevitably show up dimly through the added dye, even if the dye works very well. The results can be fine, though; a subtle tone-on-tone design is not always a bad thing.

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